Hi, I'm Mark

I enjoy life. I'm a Mormon.

About Me

I'm a skateboarding youth turned responsible young dad. Although I'm now an 8-to-5 desk-job employee and father of two, I still love to get outside and run around. I still skate every once in a while. I like playing soccer, especially with the four-foot mini-goals I made recently out of PVC piping I bought at Home Depot. We keep the dismantled pipes on hand at all times, right in the back of our minivan. :)

I love spending time with friends, family and neighbors. At work the other day I was using Excel, and I found out that I was about to turn 10,000 days old. So I threw myself a 10,000 days old birthday party at the park right here by our house. It was fun.

Why I am a Mormon

In a word, happiness. Being a Mormon makes me happy.

Better said, following Christ brings me joy. The most exciting part of it all is that I can actually see myself progressing. I'm becoming more kind, more loving, more wise - more like Christ. I like who I'm becoming, and I attribute it all to my membership and activity in the church.

Another huge benefit of membership for me is being able to worship in the temple. Temples are different from the meeting houses in which we worship on Sundays. They're the big buildings, usually with tall spires and a gold angel on top holding a long trumpet. These buildings are like nothing else on earth, and I truly believe they are the houses of God. When I am there I can feel that - I feel like I'm coming home when I step into a temple. It's quiet, reverent and calm inside. Everything inside points to or alludes to Jesus Christ. I just love it. I'm always a better, more refined and polished man when I come out.

Personal Stories

Can you talk about the missions of the Church and your participation in them?

One thing we all feel very strongly about is making available to others what we feel is changing and improving our lives. The missionary work of the Church is the effort to accomplish just that.

The whole world is divided up into a few hundred geographic areas called missions. Each mission has somewhere between 100 and 200 volunteer, full-time Church representatives called missionaries. The missionaries work under the direction of a president who pairs them into companionships and assigns them to a sub-section of the mission in which they then serve. The message the missionaries share is the message of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority to effectively administer its saving ordinances (baptism, etc.).

Missionaries don't serve forever. They serve for 18 to 24 months, and when they're done, they return home and continue their normal lives, pursuing education, forming families, beginning careers, etc.

I was a missionary. When I was 19 I chose to serve. I submitted my papers up to Salt Lake City, indicating my willingness and preparation. A few weeks later I received a letter, constituting a call to serve in southern Brazil. I was pumped! I didn't know how to speak a word of Portuguese, but I knew I'd be able to learn it. My two older brothers had also served missions, one in the Philippines and the other in Japan.

Being a missionary was a blast. Nothing brings greater happiness than working all day in the service of others. We walked all over the place, searching for people who would be interested in hearing what we had to share. I went through (and I mean literally, through) like six or seven pairs of shoes.

It is so sweet to sit across the couch from someone in their home and share the gospel with them. Nothing beats it. Because here I was, an inexperienced 19-year-old, sharing my feelings about Christ with people in an entirely non-native language and culture, and having insight, wisdom, and inspired words come to my mind and heart that perfectly resolve the concerns and doubts of the person I was teaching. That happened time and again, to the point where I would just expect it. I really believe I learned more on my mission, in this way, than I ever taught. It's amazing.

If you ever have the chance to meet with missionaries, I'd certainly encourage it. I'd be very surprised if you didn't find at least something of value in what they have to say. I know the message the missionaries around the world still share is true.

How I live my faith

At church I'm currently serving as a bishop, which is more or less the Mormon equivalent of a pastor except that it's not my job (although it takes up about that much time). I really, really enjoy it. It's really great to be able to help people in that position. Plus, it's making a much better man out of me.

I begin every day with a prayer that God will help me be a little more like Christ that day. That's essentially it. Reading the scriptures and listening to the inspired direction of church leaders helps me see how to do that.

The commandments and standards that God has revealed help to guide my decisions. I focus on adhering to them as best I can.

Why don’t Mormons have paid clergy?

Mark answered...

I might have a good take on this one.

In October of 2009 I was quietly minding my own business, a recent move-in to our neighborhood's Mormon congregation. Then one day my wife and I received a visit in our apartment from a higher-up church leader. He asked us a number of questions about worthiness and compliance with church standards, and then, apparently feeling content with our responses, he told us that he had felt inspired to call me to serve as the next bishop. He asked if we would accept that invitation, explaining that I would likely serve for a period of 5-8 years. We agreed, and the next Sunday I was presented before the congregation for their sustaining vote. That's how it happens.

Since then I've counseled with and taught many people and led many meetings. One thing I'm certain of is that I have had divine help. That's for sure. I've needed it, because although I've always tried to lead a good life, nothing can really prepare you sufficiently for this kind of assignment.

I'm reminded of what Paul wrote to the Hebrews: "And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that was called of God, as was Aaron." (Chapter 5, verse 4)

There's something pretty cool about being led by someone who didn't pursue the position. It's peer leadership. There's no distinction between leader and member - we're all just trying to come unto Christ together. Plus, it's temporary. I'll be switched out when my turn is done, and someone else will take the reigns. It's developmental, and it keeps things fresh.
Susie answered...

A ward or branch is the local unit of the church. This is the place where members have the opportunity to develop friendships and to help one another. We get support and lessons on the scriptures and how to improve our family relationships.

Our Heavenly Father expects us to lift and serve one another in this life. This is the principle behind a volunteer clergy. The local leader of a ward or branch calls on various members on the ward/branch to volunteer their services in teaching and leading the other members. We all donate our time and thus are able to lift and serve on another. The leaders seek divine guidance in making these callings. We who have been called to also seek divine guidance in fulfilling our positions.

We each try to follow the teachings of an ancient prophet who taught that when we are baptized we "are willing to bear one another's burdens, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort." (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 18:8-9).

Through our volunteer service, members lift one another's burdens and express our love to one another.

What are Mormon women like? Do Mormons believe in equality of men and women?

Gloria answered...

We believe that men and women are equal in importance, but different in responsibilities and roles. We are two parts of a whole. Women can bear and raise children, men provide and protect. This may seem old-fashioned, but it works! My husband is the President of a company, and I tell him that he is the President at work, and I am the President of my own little corporation at home. I support him in his challenging job, and he supports me in mine. I do believe that "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world"! I am caring for, teaching and nurturing children who will go out in the world and fulfill their own great destinies. I feel a huge responsibility to prepare them for what they will face in the future and to make sure that they have the ability/tools to handle whatever challenges life brings them. I have the greatest and most challenging job in the world!

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Joseph Smith

As is the case throughout history God has communicated to His children through prophets. God used a humble man as a prophet to restore His Church on earth who ultimately died defending His faith.

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